Cedarville's Carnival
by underestimating-daisy
Summary: Sam convinces Dean to go to the fair and Cas shows up, confused by the whole ordeal. /fic prompt reply for tumblr/


It was in-between hunts and Dean just needed a damn day to himself. He was driving the Impala in silence — Sam was asleep in the passenger seat — and he was going nuts. He couldn't pull over because there was no where to stop. He couldn't put on music because Sammy told him that if he played Metallic one more time while he was asleep Dean's tapes would mysteriously end up in the next grave they had to burn. He'd been driving like that for hours and when Dean finally spotted an exit, he took it.

Dean looked at his new surroundings and noted that he was driving to the heart of nowhere. Trees lined both sides of the narrow two lane road and he could see the outline of some buildings in the distance. It looked like the type of small town that Hallmark could photograph for their cheesiest of greeting cards Dean mused to himself while he gently banked a curve in the road. It didn't really seem like the place would harbor the kinds of release Dean was craving but at least he'd be able to stretch his legs and get a beer.

Only a few more minutes of driving well above the posted speed limit brought the Winchesters into town. Close up it wasn't quite as small as Dean had thought, the buildings did seem quite old though. However, Dean was having a hard time dating the buildings because everything was covered in flyers and banners and balloons.

Dean slowed the Impala down so he could read one of the larger banners. "CEDARVILLE'S 13TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY CARNIVAL!" Dean laugh in spite of himself. "These damn small towns and their need to celebrate everything," he said disapprovingly.

The sound of Dean's voice pulled Sam from his slumber. He picked his head up, wiping the drool from his mouth, and asked, "Where are we?"

"Cedarville?" Dean replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Sam wiped the sleep from his eyes and observed the town as Dean slowly drove through the center. Sam noted the many banners advertising the carnival for… _Earth day?_Sam thought incredulously. Blue and green balloons and decorations lined the buildings; people weaved between the sandwich boards on the sidewalks, with slogans about protecting the environment and planting trees. Sam shook his head and looked over to Dean, "Well the carnival started yesterday… Were you hoping to get in on the Earth day celebration?"

Dean shot Sam a narrow-eyed look of disgust. "Yeah Sammy, I'm all about saving the rainforests and separating my paper from my plastic." Dean took the Impala around a corner and was surprised to see that hiding behind the giant bank building in the town square was the carnival — a rather impressive looking one.

The road didn't extend very far past the bank; it ended with a parking lot in front of a large field. The field was probably empty on most days during the year but it now contained hot dog stands, cotton candy vendors, carnival rides that looked like they belonged in a theme park — everything a carnival should have and more. It struck Dean as odd that such a small town could A) be able to afford such an extravagant event and B) would hold a carnival of this proportion for freakin' Earth day, but he decided he didn't care enough to really worry about the choices of the People of Nowhereville.

Dean began to drive the Impala in reverse when Sam stopped him, "Dude, what do you think you're doing?" Dean looked over at Sam. The look on Sam's face was that of an 8 year old boy who wanted nothing more than to eat some funnel cake and ride The Fantastic Fireball. Dean hated moments like this, when past losses were painted so clearly on his little brother's face.

To avoid turning the mood emotional Dean scoffed, "Are you serious? We've got better stuff to do… Probably… Somewhere… important." Sam laughed and replied, "Super convincing, Dean. I'm sure Probably Somewhere Important can wait a few hours. I'm tired of being stuffed up in the car; I'm too tall to be sitting in such a small space for so long, man."

Dean continued to stare at Sam without speaking. "It'll only be for a little while," Sam said smirking, "You can't tell me you NEVER wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel?"

Finally, and with a sigh, Dean put the Impala back into drive and parked in a spot far away from the rest of the cars. "I'm not letting anyone scratch Baby, not in this backwoods town… On Earth day," he muttered as he stepped out of the car. Sam lumbered his way out after Dean and they walked together to the entrance.

An overly excited teenage boy greeted them at the ticket booth, "Hello gentleman! Would either of you be interested in buying some tickets today? 1 for $1, 50 for $30, or a wristband for $20!" Dean gave a long suffering look at the kid in the booth and then at Sam. Sam laughed at Dean and passed the boy a ten dollar bill. "Thank you sir! Half the proceeds from today's carnival go to planting trees in the rainforest!" he exclaimed as he handed Sam his tickets.

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" Dean said as they walked away from the booth. He kicked an empty cup that was on the ground in front of his feet. "Sure, plant a tree but don't worry guys, the ground is still our trash can."

Sam laughed out loud. "I didn't realize you cared so much about littering, Dean. I'm sure you'd fit right in with this crowd."

Dean scowled at Sam as they walked along the fairway. Men from game booths shouted at them, children raced throw the crowds, and hundreds of voices slowly melted into one loud buzz. After a few minutes of aimless shuffling Sam spotted what he'd been looking for as they walked.

"The Fantastic Fireball… Wow," he said in a hushed tone. The Fantastic Fireball stood right in front of the boys, a tall blue metal contraption that took you around and around in dizzyingly fast circles. Sam's eyes lit up like he was a kid again. Suddenly he cleared his throat and his brow wrinkled as he tried to regain a manly composure. "Um, well I guess you should go find a beer and pout somewhere."

Dean started laughing, and didn't stop even as he said, "Sammy, you don't have to pretend like I don't know what you're gonna do as soon as I walk away."

"Dude, just go away."

"No, no I think I'll stay and watch my little Sammy ride his first roller coaster."

"I'm not kidding," Sam stated harshly, it didn't stop Dean's amusement.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Dean turned away as Sam approached the line for the ride. Even though he'd made fun of his brother, he knew there were just some things they missed during their childhood Sam couldn't let go of and that particular ride was one of them.

After leaving Sam to his rides Dean got a beer and headed over to the game booths. He had some extra cash he probably couldn't really afford to waste on the rigged games but he had intentions of doing just that.

The man at the booth with the bottles you were supposed to knock over with a ball had been the loudest and most adamant so Dean visited that one first. He paid the guy five bucks for three shots at the pyramid of dirty glass bottles. He sipped his beer and grabbed the first old red rubber ball from the bucket sitting on the ledge of the booth.

He squeezed the ball and threw in the air a few times. The man at the booth stood staring off into space while he scratched his overgrown beard and muttered encouragements as if he'd been doing it for far too long. With a deep breath Dean got into a loose pitcher formation and pegged the ball at the bottles.

He missed by a good 2 inches.

The man idly looked from the bottles to Dean and said in a monotone voice, "Two more shots, you got this." Dean shrugged and grabbed the next ball. He realigned himself and as he was letting the ball go the man behind the booth snapped out of his stupor and shrieked, "Jesus Christ, man!" Dean immediately lost all concentration and let the ball go too soon. It hit the shelf with a thud, not even moving one bottle.

"I don't think that's scientifically possible. The force of the ball surely would have knocked over all of those bottles," said a voice behind Dean.

"Where did he COME FROM?" asked the bewildered booth worker.

Dean sighed and turned around to see a familiar trench coated shape standing too close. "Cas, you really can't just APPEAR like that. We've talked about it I don't know how many times. It's off putting." He looked back at the man behind the booth and said, "Don't worry about that last ball."

Dean grabbed Cas' arm and directed him away from the games toward the food booths. When Dean was sure they were out of earshot from anyone he asked, "What is it, man?"

Cas looked around them for a moment before looking back at Dean, "I need you and Sam to help me with something. I found a particularly dangerous relic, one that Balthazar probably lost. I typically would be able to acquire myself but-"

"Not right now," Dean cut him off. He waved his arm around, "Not right now. Sam and I are… busy."

Castiel gave Dean a very confused look. "Busy with what? I sense no creatures here and you were throwing balls as bottles. I don't understand how that is work."

Dean chuckled at Cas' sincerity. Coming from anyone else Dean would have been annoyed but from Cas, he knew the angel was genuinely confused. "Uh, consider it childhood wish fulfillment," Dean answered, raising his eyebrows.

"I still don't understan-"

"Is this relic causing any disasters?"

"Well, no-"

"Is anyone being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed by this relic?"

"Again, no but-"

"Can this mission wait for a few hours?"

"I suppose so-"

"Well then, loosen up. Eat some cotton candy. Make merry," Dean said as he walked away from Castiel. "Damnit, I forgot my beer," he muttered.

"What is 'cotton candy'?" Castiel asked, following Dean as he walked away.

"Okay, that wasn't an invitation to follow me like a lost puppy… and how do you not know what cotton candy is? Alive for how many millennia and you don't know what cotton candy is…." Dean muttered to himself. He rounded a booth to see the carnival booth worker sipping on a beer that Dean was nearly positive belonged to him only moments before. He mouthed, "Gross," to no one in particular.

"Well my garrison's job was to watch over the humans but we never got closely involved enough to learn about such things as," Cas brought his hands up in air quotes, "'cotton candy'. It just wasn't in our job description." The angel shrugged and looked at his surroundings, mildly confused.

Dean turned back around to look at the angel and laughed despite himself. For as long as they had known each other Dean sometimes forgot that Cas hadn't been a resident of Earth, living among the humans, for very long – especially in comparison to how long Castiel had been alive. "Uh, well okay. This," Dean gestured around himself, "is called a fair. People come to the fair to get on rides built up in a day by shady carnival workers, they come to eat food that will probably make them sick, and drink beer that is flatter than the ancient Greeks thought the Earth was…."

"None of that sounds even mildly enjoyable," Cas said in earnest.

Dean chuckled again and simply stated, "It doesn't _sound_ fun in theory. But if you actually participate in the whole fair experience, it can be a pretty alright time."

"Ah, well I'll leave you to it then, just pray to me when you're ready to help-"

Dean waved his hand, cutting Cas off mid-sentence. "Uh, actually… Sammy is off fulfilling childhood dreams and whatnot, so if you want to stick around I can give you the grand tour of the fair experience. It couldn't hurt to loosen up a bit and learn something new, not even for an angel? Plus, uh, this could come in handy someday," Dean finished unconvincingly.

Cas looked at Dean like this was all some grand joke but he nodded curtly in agreement.

"So," Dean sighed, "Where do you want to start?"

Cas didn't say a word, just simply pointed to the Ferris Wheel.


End file.
